The Away Network, which traces its roots to 1999, has been true all these years to its initial focus on destinations.
And, another advertising/media network, the TripAdvisor Media Network, found its footing during the same era with hotels as its core business.
It would be simplistic to attribute the relative performance of these two advertising networks to that one key decision for each. But we all know which focus turned out to be the more strategic one as the much-largerTripAdvisor leads parent company Expedia Inc.’s media efforts around the world.
Orbitz Worldwide doesn’t break out the financial performance of its Away Network. A spokesman simply says OWW is “happy with its business performance.”
So now, the Away Network plans to play a little catch-up with TripAdvisor.
Eric Brodnax, the general manager of the Away Network, was coy about the timing, but at a bloggers summit in Chicago last week that Orbitz Worldwide put together, he described some new directions.
Brodnax says the Away Network will bolster its hotel coverage, and part of that means it will add hotel reviews.
That fits nicely with Orbitz Worldwide’s current obsession with building its global hotel business.
If you take them at their word, Orbitz Worldwide employees appear to be dreaming hotels, eating hotels, smoking hotels, 24/7.
Meanwhile, Lodging.com, an Away Network brand brought out of the mothballs a few months ago, will expand beyond its current focus on facilitated search for hotels, with all of those online travel agency booking engines, and will enter the experiential or inspirational travel realm, combining travel information with real-time pricing, Brodnax says.
For example, Lodging.com will show families what travel options they have if they want to go on vacation to Cape Cod, Mass., with two children and a $2000 trip budget.
This new thrust for Lodging.com sets it apart from the usual online travel agency penchant for moving consumers headlong down the booking path.
For example, Orbitz Worldwide CEO Barney Harford says Orbitz focuses on presenting the best hotel content to consumers after they have chosen their destination.
In contrast, it appears that Lodging.com will get involved in the trip-research phase, and will help people pick destinations and activities before drilling down with pricing and other information about their hotel choices.
It appears to be low-hanging fruit (Orbitz, focusing on quick bookings) versus inspiration higher-up the tree (Lodging.com).
Of this next phase of Lodging.com’s evolution with technology partner Vast, Brodnax says: “This is not going to be an easy technology project.”
Asked whether the new thrust for Lodging.com will have parallels with websites like UpTake and TravelMuse, Brodnax says there will be some parallels with UpTake, although there will be some distinctions, too.
“A lot of us in this space have been thinking about similar questions,” Brodnax says, pointing out that some of the answers to those questions will vary.
After all, a decade ago TripAdvisor and Away.com asked themselves similar questions and came up with different answers.